GRChTS reported 100% verification of subscribers by operators, experts doubt the reliability
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According to a report by GRChTs, the Roskomndzor structure responsible for the national segment of the Internet and communication networks, mobile operators have verified 100% of their active subscriber base as part of the requirements for confirming end-customer data. However, this assessment is questioned by experts, and the operators themselves say that the regulator continues to receive requests for re-verification.
Kommersant got acquainted with the report of the Main Radio Frequency Center (GRFC), subordinate to Roskomnadzor, on its work in 2023. The document notes that in 2023, the Antifraud information system, which is supposed to counter telephone fraud, prevented more than 756.7 million calls. But for the system to work fully, all telecom operators must connect to it. The deadline to join is the end of February.
It follows from the report that in 2023, operators legally verified information about 351.1 million numbers, which is 100% of their active subscriber base. 43 million numbers issued with violations were identified. The GRChTs does not disclose the calculation methodology.
From September to December 2023, operators stopped providing services to more than 600 thousand numbers with unidentified owners, writes GRChTS. The main errors when issuing SIM cards were the lack of confirmation of the authenticity of subscriber information (6.22% of cases), incorrect filling of fields in the database (4.12%) and lack of necessary data (1.12% of cases). The GRCHTS added that to suppress violations in 2022–2023, Roskomnadzor together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs carried out more than 1.8 thousand events and seized about 160 thousand gray SIM cards.
According to the Law “On Communications”, the operator is obliged to verify the accuracy of information about the subscriber even before the start of providing services to him, including data about end users if the SIM card is issued to legal entities and small businesses. But the procedure can take up to 48 days, and during this time the user essentially remains anonymous (see Kommersant on February 15). If the data is not confirmed, the operator must stop providing services.
MTS, based on the results of the third quarter of last year, had a subscriber base of 80.8 million connections, MegaFon, based on the results of the first half of 2023, had 75.8 million subscribers, Tele2 and Rostelecom (provide a general estimate) had a subscriber base at the end of 2022 the base was 48.1 million users (data not provided for the first half of 2023). At the same time, VimpelCom’s subscriber base in the third quarter of 2023 decreased by 4% year-on-year, to 44.1 million people.
MTS, VimpelCom and Tele2 declined to comment. MegaFon clarified that even if the number was blocked due to lack of verification, the subscriber can confirm his data and unblock the SIM card. Kommersant’s interlocutor at one of the operators noted that processing requests for re-identification coming from the GRFC creates a burden on the company’s staff: “queues of subscribers who need verification began to accumulate in the salons.”
The head of Content Review, Sergei Polovnikov, doubts the relevance of ratings for confirmed active subscribers of telecom operators: “It is possible that operators simply transferred to the system data about all numbers that are in circulation in one way or another, because it is impossible to 100% confirm the data of all active subscribers ” The analyst believes that 600 thousand disconnected numbers are most likely corporate clients who did not update data on end users of SIM cards: “In general, such a volume of disconnections will not significantly affect the financial performance of operators.”
Kommersant’s interlocutor on the market also doubts the reliability of the GRChTs’ estimates: “Data on 100% verification of subscribers was transferred for formal reporting, operators still ask subscribers to come to the salon to confirm their identity and passport data.” This means, he believes, that “the current requirements regulating the circulation of SIM cards do not actually work.”
The problem of subscriber verification has worsened due to the increase in telephone fraud: according to the Central Bank, in 2023, attackers managed to successfully carry out 1.17 million transactions and steal 15.8 billion rubles. To solve this problem, in particular, the government is developing amendments to the Law “On Communications”: adding information on SIM cards registered to citizens to the Gosuslugi portal (see “Kommersant” dated November 17, 2023). This way, the user can check for himself whether his old number is being used for fraudulent purposes.
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